The Rise to Power: Mush and Goombrawl
by The Great Yoshi Rider
Summary: Mush Princeton and his new friend Goombrawl join the first annual Glitz Pitz fighting tournament and work their way through the ranks. Rated for violence and language.
1. Best Friends Forever

Hey everyone! Tis me, TGYR. I've been thinking of different things to do with Glitzville, cause it's my favorite part of my favorite game! So enjoy the tale of Mush and Goombrawl.

The Great Yoshi Rider

Best Friends Forever

_"It'll be awesome!" you said! "We can't lose!" you said! Well look at us now! We're royally fucked!_

Two months earlier...

A young boy, named Mush Princeton, was living in poverty with his Mom, Dad, and sister Jolene. But one day, he was walking through Toad Town to see the Princess Peach make an announcement. But there was one problem...

"Hey loser!" a bully called at him. "What are you doing in town? Come to visit you're imaginary friend behind the dumpster?" He picked Much up by his shoulders. "Bug off kid. You don't belong here!" He threw Mush to the ground.

"I belong here just as much as you do!" Mush shouted. He ran up to the bully to fight back, but he just got pushed down again.

"Maybe if you can beat me in a fight, I'll let you by!" The bully said. He put up his fists to fight. Mush tried to swing at him, but got punched in the face. Blood sprayed over his face and he fell back to the ground.

"SHIT!" Mush yelled. "MY FUCKING NOSE!" He grabbed his nose and rolled around in pain.

"Heh," the bully said, "you'll never get through town."

"HEY LOSER!" a voice called. "Stop picking on that kid!" An albino goomba came flying at him, knocking him away.

"Oof!" he said, falling back. "I think my stomach is bleeding... Fine, you win this time. But you won't win next time!" He sniffed. "MOMMY!" he cried, running off. "I NEED A BAND-AID!" He rann off to the south end of town, leaving Mush and the Goomba where they were.

"Thanks..." Mush started, trying to stand.

"No problem." The goomba said. "But don't stand up. I'll go get help."

"Wait... What's your name?"

"Me? Name's Goombrawl."

"Goombrawl... I'm Mush. I have a feeling we'll be great friends." He fainted, and Goombawl ran to get help.


	2. We're a team!

Okay, so now we know the beginning. But what happens next? Find out now!

We're a team!

_Remember when we first met? It was the greatest! But now look at us! About to be fucking killed!_

Two months earlier...

Mush slowly awoke in the hospital, with people surrounding him. His parents were there, along with his sister and new friend Goombrawl. He tried to stand up.

"Hey, hey," started Goombrawl, "you need to stay here for a little longer. Your face is pretty messed up."

"MUSH!" his mother cried, hugging him tight. "I'm glad you're awake! You have no idea how worried we were!"

"Yeah little brother!" said Jolene. "I'd never get over it if something happened to you!"

"Mo-om!" Mush said. "You're embarrassing me in front of my new friend! Wait... How did you three know I got hurt?"

"Oh," said Goombrawl, "I got them. See, I brought you here after you passed out and the toad who works here said that he had seen you before. He told me where you lived and I ran to get your family." Mrs. Princeton patted him on the head.

Mush stood up. "See, I'm fine. I'm gonna walk around a bit. I'll see you guys at home." He walked outside, and wandered around town a bit while his parents were leaving. After they were out of town, he walked to the Dojo. Goombrawl was standing inside.

"Mush! You shouldn't be here. You're not good enough to fight right now."

"Not alone." he said, grinning at Goombrawl. "But I have you."

"You're right! Cause we're a team!"


	3. The First Battle!

The first battle!

"ALRIGHT!" Mush yelled at everyone in the dojo(like, five people besides him and Goombrawl, including the Master). "WHO'S READY TO FIGHT!"

"We are!" yelled a koopa with a gold shell and a bob-omb with a gold color. "If you can beat us, we'll teach you both an ancient fighting skill." the koopa said.

"STOP!" called the Master, stepping forward. "First, I must set some ground rules. If the challengers win, you may battle Lee and Chan. If the champions win, the challengers may never return to this dojo. Plus, no using your fists. Koopro! Bompom! Take your places! Challengers! Take yours!" Koopro and Bompom walked to the left side of the room, Mush and Goombrawl to the right. Master held up one hand. "... FIGHT!" he yelled, bringing it down.

"Prepare to die!" Mush yelled, charging at Koopro. He pulled his upper body back, and flip kicked Koopro in the face, spraying blood on the wall. Koopro went flying, but protected himself with his shell. He spun out of the new hole in the wall and threw himself at Goombrawl.

"Mush, look o-OW!" yelled Goombrawl, as he was hit at full force. He crashed through the wall, landing on the grass outside. At the same time, Mush jumped over Bompom, who was coming from behind. He started playing with him like a soccer ball.

"Heh, this is kinda fun." He said. Bompom was starting to bleed severely, and yelled to Koopro.

"Don't worry Bompom, I gotcha!" he yelled, running over.

"Yep, right in your fingers!" Mush yelled. He kicked Bompom right into Koopro's face. He flew back, landing at the edge of the room. The wall was stained red with Bompom's blood. He pulled Bompom off and got ready to attack.

"THE CHALLENGERS WIN!"

"WHAT!" yelled Koopro angrily.

"The rules were clear. No hands. You pulled Bompom off with your hands."

"Like I said," Mush started, "right in your fingers!" He ran outside to get Goombrawl, who was unconscious. He carried him to the hospital, where they stayed the night.

Mush's Diary

_Dear random scrap of paper,_

_Today was CRAZY! I got punched in the face, and met this albino goomba._

_His name is Goombrawl._

_He helped me out. He took me to the hospital to get better._

_We went to the dojo after I was better. We fought these crazy guys. And it was even crazier since we couldn't use our hands. I totally kicked this Koopro guy in the face! He took out Goombrawl, and they tried to sneak attack me! I jumped over the little Bob-omb, I think his name was Bompom, and started kicking his ass with my soccer skills! He totally got his ass kicked. I used the "no hands" rule to win, by making them grab each other. I'm in the hospital right now with Goombrawl. Oh! I think he's waking up!_

_Mush_

"Huh?" Goombrawl muttered, sitting up. "You brought me to the hospital?"

"Yep." said Mush. "Bit of a role reversal..." He yawned. "I'm kinda tired. Let's talk in the morning." He fell asleep right there in the chair. Goombrawl sat there in wonder for a few seconds, then went to sleep himself.


	4. First Annual Tournament

The First Annual Glitz Pitz Fighting Tournament

"So we're going back?" Goombrawl asked, walking with Mush to the dojo.

"Yeah," Mush answered. "Remember what that Koopa said? He told us that they'd teach us an 'ancient fighting skill.' We have to go learn that." He said as they walked up the stairs. "I bet it'll be something awesome! Like a crazy spin attack, or a spinning jump kick, or a spinning throw, or a spinning punch, or a-"

"Spin around too much and throw up." Goombrawl cut in. "You really want a spin attack, don't you?"

They were stopped outside the door. "Yeah, I do." Mush sighed. He wondered what the attack could be.

Half an hour later...

"This is the coolest attack ever!" Mush yelled, walking out of the dojo. He saw something out of the corner of his eyes. "Hey, what's this?" he pulled a poster off the wall. He looked it over quickly. "Hmm... First Annual Glitz Pitz Fighting Tournament, eh? Sounds like fun. Says the preliminaries are tomorrow, and the tournament itself starts in two weeks. Plus..." He paused for effect. "There's a Grand Prize of one million coins! We should totally go!"

"Wait, where is it? And how do we get there?"

"The Prelims are in some town called Rogueport. We have to take a boat there. Doesn't say where the tournament is though."

"Okay. We should head out there tonight so that we're there in the morning."

"Okay Goombrawl. Let's get ready to go. Meet me right here in one hour." He ran off to his house to get ready, and Goombrawl did the same.

Mush's House...

"Hi Mom, bye Mom. I'm going on a trip with my friend. Be back in a few days." He said, running through the living room.

"Mush Anthony Princeton, come back here!" his mother called at him. "What do you mean you'll be back in a few days!? Just running off somewhere?"

"Mo-om! I'll be fine! We're just entering a contest! Signups are tomorrow and the contest is in a few weeks. If we win, the prize is a million coins!"

"A mi... mi... million... million coins...?" she stammered. "Okay... You can go... Be careful, and make sure you say goodbye to your sister."

"Okay mom!" He ran up to his room to get his stuff. He packed a backpack with a few changes of clothes, some snacks, his iPod, and _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ to read. On the way out, he stopped at Jolene's room.

"Hey Jo," he said. "I'm going to this town called Rogueport for a contest. I wanted to say goodbye to you."

She ran over and hugged him. "Mush... Be careful. Don't get mugged or something."

"Don't worry Jo. I've been learning some self-defense with my friend. I'll see you when I get back." He walked outside and hurried back to where he was supposed to meet Goombrawl, but he wasn't there. "Goombrawl?" he called. "Where are you dude?"

There was a crash from behind a building, and a trashcan rolled down the street. Mush stopped it and Goombrawl fell out.

"Goombrawl!" he shouted. "What happened dude?"

"Ugh... Bully... Attacked me..."

"WHAT!?" Mush yelled. I'll get him...

* * *

Oooh, sliffhanger! What is the new move exactly? You'll find out next chapter! 


	5. Bullies

Chapter 5: Bullies

"I'll fucking kill him!" Mush yelled. He ran towards the alley where Goombrawl had rolled out of. Standing there was the bully from the day before, a bandit, and a bob-omb. They just smiled and laughed.

"Well Andy," the toad started, "Looks like I owe you 20 coins. He WAS stupid enough to come back here." He threw some coins to the bandit.

"Yep. I can tell these things. Yo Crash, you wanna go first?"

"Sure BOOM thing." said the bob-omb. He ran at Mush with his fuse lit.

"Time for my martial arts skills!" Mush said. He clapped his hands on the fuse, extinguishing it. "MONKEY DOUSING FOREST FIRE!" He picked up "Crash" and threw him into a garbage can on the other side of the alley. Andy and the toad were staring at each other.

"What," Mush asked, "too scared to fight?"

"No," said Andy, "me and Tim were just wondering... Monkey dousing forest fire?"

"Yeah," Mush said, "I made it up. You like?"

"I'd like it more if it could stop me!" yelled Andy, running at him, pulling out a knife. He slashed at Mush, who dodged.

"Heh, is that your best shot?" Mush taunted. "I've seen monkeys do better than you!"

"Grr..." Andy growled. "Prepare yourself... For the THOUSAND STABS OF DEATH!" Andy suddenly started running in circles so fast you couldn't tell where he was. Every half-second there was a stab at Mush. By the time the attack was over (about eight minutes), Mush was on the ground, bleeding a ton. He struggled to his feet.

"Ugh..." he muttered. "Good... Attack... But you can't beat... the bob-omb toss!" He used some rope that fell out of Goombrawl's garbage can to grab Crash and pull him in. Lighting the fuse, he tossed Crash in the air and jumped up. He quickly spun around in mid air and kicked him at the other two.

"Oh crap!" yelled Andy trying to get run away, but he was too worn out from all the stabbing.

"I'LL GET YOU PRINCETON!" yelled Tim, as the explosion went off. Mush ran back to Goombrawl, as fast as he could. After a minute or two of limping, he was back at Goombrawl.

"I showed them..." he said. "But we've gotta get to the dock. Boat leaves in five minutes." Goombrawl tried to stand, but couldn't. Mush ended up carrying him to the dock, and they got on the boat just as it was leaving.


	6. Arrival in Rogueport

Hello all! It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, wait no longer, TGYR is back and continuing this story. I'm new and (hopefully) improved, so let's begin!

Arrival in Rogueport

_It's dark in here… Are you sure we should go in?_

_Of course! All those stories are just, well, stories! There's nothing to worry about._

_Well… If you say so…_

"Laddy! Wake up laddy! We've almost made it t' the town!"

Goombrawl jerked awake, startled both by his dream and the captain's shouting. He looked around the cabin. The last time he looked around it, it had been nearly pitch black, and he was tired from being beaten so badly. But now, the sun was shining through the doorway and he was well rested. He could see now that the room was very sparsely decorated. There was a picture of the ocean on one wall, and a porthole on the opposite one. There was a nightstand between the two beds, with a small lamp resting on top. The captain, a Bob-omb with an eye patch and a ship's wheel instead of a clockwork key, was still standing in the doorway, strangely not put off by the Goomba's odd skin. Goombrawl kicked back the blankets, shrugging off his strange dream.

"Err…" Goombrawl began, hopping out of the bed. "Thanks for waking me… Do you know where my friend is?"

"Ya mean th' Toad who carried ya on board?" The captain replied. He gestured behind him with his fuse. "He's up on th' deck. He seems happy to be goin' t' the town. Odd, seein' as not a soul I've met has ever wanted to go to this town..." Before Goombrawl could even think of a question to ask in response, the captain turned and walked out of the cabin.

Goombrawl followed him, scanning the sea. Ahead, he could see the outline of Rogueport quickly growing as the town approached. He walked around the edge of the boat, never taking his eyes off the town. But before he could even get halfway, he heard a familiar voice that made him remember why he was on the ship in the first place.

"Goombrawl!" Mush shouted, running up to him. "I'm glad you're up! We're so close to Rogueport, and we still have three hours before the prelims start! I am SO PUMPED UP!" He pumped his fist into the air a few times. The Goomba struggled to hold in his laughter.

"Yeah Mush, I know." He replied. "But we need to be on our toes. With a million coins as the prize for this competition, there's gonna be some pretty tough fighters out there."

Mush looked at his companion thoughtfully. He hadn't really thought about the other competitors. He just assumed that they would make it through the preliminaries and on to the actual tournament. His thoughts were interrupted when the shadow of the town of Rogueport suddenly blocked the sun.

"LAND HO!" called the captain, stopping the ship and dropping the anchor. "All ashore who's goin' ashore!" He hopped down from the ship, followed quickly by Mush, Goombrawl, and several other passengers who had not left their cabins during the trip. Mush and Goombrawl looked around at the beat up dock.

"Geeze…" Mush said, looking at the many Toad and Bob-omb sailors who were walking around, talking, and arguing all around the dock. "This place looks really bad… Like, worse than my place even…" He and Goombrawl walked down the path and up the stairs into the town square.


	7. The Preliminaries, Part 1

The Preliminaries, Part 1

"Come one, come all! Test your skills in the First Annual Glitz Pitz Fighting Tournament!"

Mush and Goombrawl pushed and squeezed their way through the crowd in the square. If they had ever been to the town before, they would have noticed the lack of the usual gallows in the center of the square. But as they had not, they were more surprised by the large fighting arena erected in their place. Standing in the middle of the arena, shouting and trying to draw the crowd, was a very peculiar looking Clubba. He had strangely blue skin, along with a purple shell with gold trim. He had a black porkpie hat atop his head, with fiery orange hair flowing out from the back. He wore an orange vest and black jacket, both clearly kept for special occasions. Instead of the mace normally carried by Clubbas, he held a microphone.

Despite his advertising, very few people were approaching him to register to fight. As Mush and Goombrawl climbed into the arena, they were pushed back by a large, gaudily colored bird, who stormed up to the Clubba.

"This competition is NOTHING! It's gonna feel the RAWK!" he shouted, throwing up the horns.

"Ooh, a feisty one! That'll be great for ratings! What's yer name, kid?"

"The name's Rawk Hawk, but you can just call me Champ!" Rawk Hawk turned to the crowd and pumped his fist in the air.

"I like it! Head over to that table over there and sign yer name." He waved Rawk Hawk to the side, and Mush and Goombrawl approached him.

"Hey! Name's Mush Princeton, and this is Goombrawl! We're here to sign up for this tournament!" Mush pulled out his best fake confidence, trying to match the large bird who was now scrawling something illegible on the papers on the table.

"Hmm… Mush Princeton… Doesn't have that sound I'm looking for. Kinda bland… Wait, I got it! Forget Mush Princeton, kid! Yer new name's 'Prince Mush'! The crowd'll love it!"

"Err… Okay? I guess?" Mush stammered, taken aback by the Clubba forcing the new name on him.

"I suppose yer gonna be fightin' as a team? Just sign as Prince Mush, and battle together. Don't worry 'bout a thing. Grubba will take good care of ya." He winked at them, and waved them to the table that Rawk Hawk had vacated.

"Hmm…" Mush said, scanning the list. "Looks like these aren't paired up yet… Guess we won't know who we're up against until the competition starts."

"Well," Goombrawl said, taking an open seat in the front row, which was reserved for fighters, "I guess we should just get settled until our fight. You realize we won't even be in the actual competition unless we win this one, right?"

"I know…" Mush said, looking at his friend. "But I'm just so pumped up!" He sat in the seat next to Goombrawl, and threw his feet up onto the edge of the arena. He gazed into the sky, thinking of how different the night would look here than in Toad Town. He looked at the clock strung up above the arena. _Only an hour left before it starts… We'd better be ready._

Time passed as the two friends sat there, watching more fighters slowly shuffle up to Grubba, then over to the table. Ten minutes before the set time, Grubba set down his mic, strode to the table, and copied down the contestants' names onto pieces of paper. He put the papers into his hat, and began pulling them out two at a time, writing the pairs down on a new list. Once he was finished, he put his hat back on, grabbed the new list, and walked back to the center of the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We are about to begin the preliminary round of the First Annual Glitz Pitz Fighting Tournament! Now, to set the ground rules. The most important thing to remember is that losing here will NOT end yer run in the tournament. Yer fighting will be graded from 1 to 100 based on power, technique, and crowd response. The top 20 fighters will move on to the actual tournament. For the fights, remember: If you get knocked out of the ring, you lose. If yer down for ten seconds, you lose. If yer opponent surrenders, stop fighting immediately. You win." He looked around at the crowd, paying special attention to the front two rows which had all the fighters, waiting in anticipation for their names to be called. "Our first match… Hamma, Bamma, & Flare versus the Wings of Night! Git yer butts up here!"


	8. The Preliminaries, Part 2

The Preliminaries, Part 2

Mush and Goombrawl watched along with the crowd as pairs of fighters took their turns entering the arena to battle. Not only were there a lot more fighters than they thought, there was a much wider variety. Mush had never even heard of some of the species who he saw fighting. After each fight, Grubba would return to the stage, declare the winner, and call up the next pair. He would hand each fighter a folded piece of paper, assumedly with their score written on it. As a group of chain chomps bounced happily, victorious over a trio of dull bones, Grubba scanned his list for the next pair of fighters.

"A'right folks, we've reached our halfway point! The next fight is… Rawk Hawk versus The Koopinator! Git up here!"

Mush sat up straighter in his seat, wanting to see what the bird could really do. As Rawk Hawk jumped onto the stage, a dark Koopatrol climbed up the other side. They stared each other down, neither saying a word.

"C'mon fellas, start this thing up! We don't want the crowd gettin' bored, do we?" Grubba grinned widely as he stepped down off the stage, turning to watch the two battle.

"Heh, your stupid armor won't stop me! Are you ready to be RAWKED?" Rawk Hawk called across to the Koopatrol, who was completely unphased.

"You talk too much." He said quietly. "We're here to fight, not talk." With that, he dove forward, pulled himself into his shell, and took off towards Rawk Hawk.

"Not gonna be that easy!" Rawk Hawk hopped up onto the ropes on the side of the ring, pulled them tight, and snapped them at the incoming turtle. The Koopinator curved sharply before he was hit and popped out of his shell, turning to look at the bird. He ducked down, and braced himself on the ground.

"What are you doing? Taking a break?" Rawk Hawk dove off the ropes at The Koopinator, kicking him back across the arena.

"Shouldn't have done that, fool." The Koopinator stood up, and dashed at Rawk Hawk at full speed, ducking his head at the last moment, and sending Rawk Hawk flying into the ropes.

"Argh! What the hell was that!" Rawk Hawk shouted. He held his hand on his stomach, then in front of his face. Blood dripped off from between his fingers, landing drop by drop on the floor. "You… You'll pay for that…" He shook the blood off his hand, and stepped away from the ropes. Regaining his stability, he ran at The Koopinator, who easily sidestepped. Rawk Hawk was prepared for it, and flipped backwards in front his opponent. He pulled back his leg and kicked The Koopinator square in the jaw, sending him flying to the edge of the arena. Before he could stand up, Rawk Hawk was already standing over him, scowling.

"Never. Make. Me. Bleed." He spat blood down off the edge of the arena, and kicked The Koopinator over the edge.

Grubba scribbled down a number on a piece of paper and slipped it into The Koopinator's shell. He then walked on stage and handed Rawk Hawk one. He pulled out his microphone and stepped to the center of the stage.

"The winner is… RAWK HAWK!" As Rawk Hawk climbed off the stage, smiling as he looked at his score, Grubba looked down at the list. "Next up on our list is the Magikoopa Masters versus the Pokey Triplets!" He stepped down as the fighters climbed onto the stage, then sat down on a crate off to the side of the stage.

Mush, however, wasn't interested in the next fight. He was instead watching Rawk Hawk as he walked away from the stage. _Are we gonna have to fight that guy?_ he thought, turning to look at Goombrawl. _He got stabbed straight in the gut and came back like it was nothing!_

He continued watching for a few moments, before turning back to the fight. A group of Magikoopas was flinging spells at a trio of Pokeys. He stared up at the sky and drifted off into his thoughts…

"…Mush!"

He spun to face where he heard his name come from.

"Mush! Did you hear that? We're up!" Goombrawl had already hopped out of his chair and was waiting for Mush before climbing on stage. Mush stood up and joined him, and they both climbed into the stage. As Mush looked around, he spotted their opponents approaching the stage; two Koopas and a Paratroopa, all with yellow shells and black sunglasses. As they jumped onto the stage, Mush looked them over.

_This is it… Our first and hopefully not last fight. Time to throw down!_

"A'right fellas, you know the drill. Let's see some action!" Grubba climbed down from the stage, and stood watching the fight. He wanted to see what this scrawny little Toad and his Goomba pal could do.


End file.
